While everyone has their favorite dish, we hit up Lebanese-American food blogger Bethany Kehdy of dirtykitchensecrets.com for her take.

Her favorite dishes are simple and rustic, such as m'jadarrah. That's a lentil stew (also known as poor man's stew) consisting of slow-cooked lentils with a sprinkling of burghul and caramelized onions and served with a side of zesty cabbage salad.

Or kishik -- a porridge made from burghul fermented with yogurt and dried in the sun on rooftops over seven days during the fall before being ground into fine powder.

"It's soul-soothing, wholesome food in a jiffy, although an acquired taste, I'll admit," says the power blogger.

So what is your favorite Mideast dish?

Along with Kehdy's takes, we rounded up 20 of our favorite Middle Eastern dishes to get you started along with destinations where you can find them:

1. Hummus

Which came first, hummus or pita?

joseph eid/getty images/CNN

The big daddy chickpea spread can be slathered on anything from a burger or baked potato to the traditional hot pita bread.

2. Manakeesh

It's pizza, captain, but not as we know it.

alpha/flickr/cnn

The pizza of the Arabic world, manakeesh is a round bread sprinkled with either cheese, ground meat or herbs (zaatar). It's ideal for breakfast or lunch. Varieties come from both fancy Levantine restaurants or street vendors.

4. Foul meddamas

Nothing foul about this delicious repast.

alpha/flickr/cnn

Made of fava beans, olive oil, parsley, onion, garlic and lemon, this dish doesn't have the most appetizing of presentations -- blobby brown mush is about the best we can say of it. Taste and texture make up for it.

6. Tabouleh

Parsley as you've never had it before.

joseph barrak/afp/getty images

You don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy this magical combination of bulgur, parsley, mint, onion and tomatoes. But watch out, you just might be tempted to switch teams after a steady diet of this popular salad.

7. Moutabal/baba ghanoush

Baba ghanoush comes in a variety of styles.

stu_spivack/flickr/cnn

Just when you're ready to declare hummus the best dip on the planet, you find moutabal. Similar to baba ghanoush, the dip offers a similar consistency with an eggplant kick. Spiced up with chili, it delivers a zing.

8. Fattoush

Fattoush: simple ingredients, magical combination.

stu_spivak/flickr/cnn

This tangy salad is one of the Middle East's greatest contributions to world culture. Crispy lettuce, crunchy fried squares of pita, diced tomatoes, cucumbers and onion, garlic, lemon, olive oil and mint make for a refreshing addiction.

10. Shanklish

Crumbly cheese rolled in herbs.

charles haynes/flickr/cnn

This cow or sheep milk cheese is usually fashioned into golf ball-sized bites and rolled in zaatar herbs or chili flakes (the latter version favored in Syria). Also often enjoyed with diced tomato, onion and olive oil.

11. Shawarma

Shawarma: One of the prettiest sights in the world.

joseph eid/getty images

No, shawarma wasn't invented as a hangover cure. But the tender bits of skewered chicken, garlic puree and salad wrapped in pita have made it a beloved post-session snack the world over. One more, please.

15. Quwarmah Al Dajaj

Curry veterans, this may be a new one for you.

Known to most as Kuwaiti curried chicken, the zesty dish is made with a blend of Middle Eastern flavors and spices -- lime, ginger, turmeric, baharat, cumin, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika -- that combine to give it a distinctive pop.

18. Baklava

Baklava: sticky and sweet.

armend nimani/getty images

Buttery filo pastry, chopped nuts, sweet syrup and honey dressing -- made from a recipe that dates to the Ottoman empire, it's no wonder baklava is one of the most enduring and beloved dishes on the planet.